Jake and Telly’s Greek Taverna — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

We visited this restaurant a week ago and had a pretty good overall experience.

Outside: First, as with everything in this area, parking can be a challenge and I can't really fault anyone for that. We did have a little bit of a difficult time actually finding the restaurant because the signage is pretty lacking (there's almost none on the side where you have to walk up a set of stairs to get to the restaurant)...a person asked if we were looking for Jake and Telly's and told us how to get there.

Inside: The restaurant has very ample seating and we were fortunate enough to have a nice enough day to sit on the outside deck (covered tables) and enjoy the weather. The outside area is relatively clean, but could definitely use some paint touch-ups and more thorough cleaning.

Service and Food: We found the service to be nothing special, but also not particularly lacking or rude, either. They didn't get my drink right the first time, but did later. The food came out in a reasonable time and was pretty good - we enjoyed the Gyro Sandwiches more than the Greek Dip.

Value: Price-wise, I would consider most of the plates to be quite expensive, but they did have some options that were more reasonably priced, too. The portion sizes are a little small...we ordered 3 regular meals (for 2 adults and a 2 year old) and had just enough food to not be too hungry when we finished.

In the end, I would say that it was a good enough experience, all around, but I'm not certain that we'll go back again. If you love Greek food, I would urge you to give it a try, but if you're just looking to try it out, you could probably get similar food for a better price at another Greek...

Parking is limited at the lot but well worth finding a spot somewhere to hike the concrete stairs in the building's rear toward a hallway entry. We hit the noon rush on a beautiful Saturday and were pleased to be seated almost immediately at an outdoor table. We were brought water with our menus (including crayons & coloring pictures) and set up quickly with a booster seat for our 2 year old from our server, Raven. We ordered the Marinated Olives & Feta Cheese Plate which was pretty standard (although plenty of feta) and a bit underwhelming for the $14 price. While we pained over what to order from a plethora of wonderful looking dishes Raven advised any sandwich for lunch and other nice pointers. We finally settled on the chicken meatballs with pasta for $24, "The Jake" chicken sandwich for $13, and the kids buttered pasta for $5. Raven was a really great server and later got our child some freshly warmed pita bread when she heard he wasn't really eating his pasta. But she could have been horrible at her job because the food alone would earn Jake & Telly's our 5 star rating. The children's butter pasta alone just got microwaved for my [adult] supper and was itself one of the best dishes I've eaten before The Jake and the chicken meatballs with pasta. The Jake was simply the best chicken sandwich either of us has ever had and the pasta almost made me cry the cream sauce and noodles tasted so good. For us it was an expensive meal but comparable in price to others we've had on our Colorado vacation this past week and FAR superior in freshness, taste, and overall experience. Highly...

This is a very difficult review to write because I want to be honest about my experience but also not harm the restaurant too much. My experience is that everything I ordered and was served was very tasty and well prepared. The sauces and spices were on point. The pita was fresh and sufficiently chewy. The only issue I had was the chicken. It was like biting into a piece of rubber. It frankly was utterly inedible. I live in Asheville, NC, where I eat organic chicken primarily from Whole Foods, as well as from local restaurants with a farm to table feel. I am used to eating very good quality chicken. But this chicken I had in this dish...well...I had to send it back, even though everything else was very good. I thought to myself, "Is this how chicken is supposed to taste in Colorado Springs?" I was kind of flabbergasted, because I was thinking, how can you charge $30 for a piece of chicken that has the texture of rubber? Like, I bit into it and It wasn't soft and moist. It was just utterly inedible and I was very confused at how a restaurant could have such a great tasting dish with all the trimming but the chicken could be that bad. I ordered something else more safe and that was fine. But be forewarned that if you eat the chicken at this spot, make sure it is moist and real and doesn't feel like you're eating your car tire that you need to...